Fruit shipping carton



Janf`2, 1934 w F, I UQE 1,942032 FRUITSHIPPING CARTON Filed June 6, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet -1 INVENTOR.

Jan. 2, 1934. w F, L UCE 1,942,032

FRUIT SHIPPING CARTON Filed June 6, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /9/\ z a i INV NTOR.

Patented Jan. 2, 1934 UNITED sTATEs PATENT .oFFlcEI FRUIT SHIPPING CARTON Willis F. Luce, San Francisco, Calif.

Application June 6, 1932. Serial No. 615,533

3 Claims.

able cover section. In packing fruits in boxes of this character, the uppermost layer of fruit projects slightly above. the upper edges of the box and when the flexible cover sections, which consist of slats or shooks, are nailed in place they are bent or sprung and assume a considerable curvature. During shipment, the fruit tends to shrink and settle in the box and the spring in the shooks or slats takes up the shrinkage, thus retaining the fruit in a tightly packed position and avoiding shifting of the fruit and bruising by bumping one against the other.

During the last few years, at least here in the West, a number of attempts have been made to' ship fruits in' cardboard-or ber board cartons, but such materials do not have the resiliency of board shooks or slats'and there is no means for compensating for the shrinkage of the fruit during shipping. The fruit, accordingly, becomes loose in the cartons and shifts about and is often damaged by the time it reaches its destination. Cartons also'present a problem when shipped in standard refrigerator cars, as the railway regulations require that fruit, when shipped' in boxes or cartons, must be stacked in spaced tiers to insure proper circulation of cool air during shipment and they also require proper bracing to prevent damage by shifting. Such bracingcan only be applied by nailing cross slats, et cetera, 40 to the boxes and as cardboard cartons will not hold the nails 'proper bracing has presented a difficult problem.

The object of the present invention is to generally improve and simplify the construction and operation of cardboard, fiber board cartons, or the like; to provide a carton havingmeans for taking up shrinkage of fruit during transportation; to provide a carton which may be stacked in tier formation without subjecting the fruit in the lowermost cartons to the superposed weight of the cartons placed above the same; and further, to provide a carton having a wood insert to receive and retain the nails for bracing purposes during shipment.

A carton embodying the above '5,5 features is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a cardboard carton showing the same filled with fruit and the spring board applied.

Fig. 2 is across section taken on line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the spring board. Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified form of the wooden insert.

bracing the cartons.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner in which the cartons are stacked.

Fig. 6 is a partial cross section of a refrigerator car, showing the manner of stacking and cross ticularly Figs. 1 to 3, A indicates the bottom, 2 the ends, 3 the sides, and 4 the top or cover member of a carton. The carton is suitably constructed of cardboard, ber board,

material and, in this instance, is

or a similar intended for use in the shipment or transportation of fruits and other commodities.

As heretofore stated, an ordinary paper or cardboard carton is not suitable for the transportation of fruit, the main reasons being that shrinkage of thefruit during transportation and that paper cartons do not hold or retain nails driven into them and as such are' not suitable where bracmeans are lacking for taking up ing is required. These difllculties are Overcome in Fig. 3, or it may be made from a number of slats, as indicated by dotted lines at 7a, and the slats may be nailed or otherwise secured to the cleats 6.

The insertion of a spring board, such as described, will accordingly solve the problem of shrinkage of the fruit. It also solves the bracing problem as the comparatively heavy end cleats 6 permit nails to be driven through the as these are bracing slats into the cleats and made of wood the nails will be rigidly secured and retained in order that no pressure shall be applied to damage the fruit when the bracing is being nailed to the cartons.

A pair of comparatively heavy corrugated boards 8 are inserted in each end of the carton.

These boards That is, they are placed on top of each other in rows or tiers and cross cleats 9 are placed crosswise of the cartons between the side walls of the refrigerator car. The slats are nailed to the cartons by driving the nails through the slats in the cover of the carton and into the cleats 6, and the cartons are thus rigidly braced and spaced apart, as indicated at 10, to permit circulation of the cold air from the icebox. The cross cleats, together with the corrugated end sections 8. serve still another function, to-wit, that of carrying the weight of superposed car- -tons, see Fig. 5. Where a 4number of cartons are placed on ltop of eachother, the bottom sections A of the respective cartons tend to bulge slightly due to the weight of thefruit. Such bulging is permitted when cartons of this character are employed as it will merely cause a slight yielding of the cover section of each carton. The weight of the fruit in the superposed carton-will, however, be supported by the cross cleats and the end sections 8 and the fruit in each carton will merely bel subjected to its own weight and not to the weight of the superposed cartons. Hence; it is possible to stack the cartons in higher tiers than hasheretofore been possible without damage to the fruit and a greater load may be handled in the refrigerator cars.

Where other commodities are being transported in cardboard cartons, particularly where shrinkage does not form a major problem, a modiied wooden insert may be employed, as shown in Fig. 4, that is, the cardboard carton is constructed in the usual manner, but before the carton is packed, corrugated iron sections 11-11 are inserted. These are bent at right angles at their upper ends, as indicated at 11a, and to each is nailed or otherwise secured a cross cleat 12. 'I'hese cleats, together withthe end sections 11, function to carry the load of superposed cartons and they also function as nail holding means where .bracing is required. Hence, the wooden inserts may take either the form shown in Fig. 1 where shrinkagel is encountered, or the form shown in Fig. 4 where the spring board may be eliminated.

While certain features of the present invention are more or less specifically described, I wish it understood that various changes may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims. Similarly, that the materials and nish of the several parts employed may be su'ch as the manufacturer may decide, or varying conditions or uses may demand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by letters Patent is 1. In combination with a cardboard cartonr adapted to contain a shrinkable commodity, a flexible'panel within the carton in contact with the commodity, and means insertable between each end ofthe panel and a cover on the carton to spring the panel and maintain it under tension.

2. I`n combination with a cardboard carton adapted to contain a shrinkable commodity, a iiexible panel within the carton in contact with the commodity, anda cleat interposed between.' each end oi' the panel and a cover on the carton to spring the panel and maintain it under tension.

3. In combination with a cardboard carton 110 adapted to contain a shrinkable commodity, a flexible panel within the carton in contact with the commodity, means insertable between each vend of the. panel and a cover on the carton to WILLIS F. LUCE. 

